


The King's Cloak

by BookGirlFan



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fairy Tale Style, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 03:33:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5481881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookGirlFan/pseuds/BookGirlFan





	The King's Cloak

There was a princess, daughter of the great King Across the Seas. She was not his natural born child; rather, he had chosen her when she was young to be his child, and had taken her to his kingdom to be raised in his palace, so long ago that she no longer remembered her life before. She grew up loved and cared for, with other chosen children of the King as her playmates. Yet as she grew older, she felt this was not enough. 

The princess wanted to explore the world, go back to her homeland and discover what she could be. The King, though sad to see her go, accepted her choices. "I have but one request," said he. "As you journey, take this cloak with you. Wear it, and never take it off, for it will mark you as a child of mine, and will keep you safe."

So the princess wore the cloak, and returned to her homeland. She met many people, and made new friends, but wherever she went, there would always be those who would see her and turn away without a word, refusing to even speak to her. This troubled the princess, and she asked one of her new friends why they would do this. "It is your cloak," her companion said. "Anyone who wears the cloak of the king is to be protected, and kept safe. Those who turn away know that the king would not be pleased for his child to be found in their company."

The princess thought on this for many days, and with each person who turned away from her, she began to feel more and more like her cloak was a burden, not a gift. How could she find what she could be, she thought, wearing a cloak that told everyone who she already was? She resolved to take off the cloak, just for a little while, assuring herself that it would not stay off for long. 

As soon as she took it off, however, her thoughts changed. She felt a sense of freedom, unlike anything she had felt before. No longer could she be recognised as the king's chosen child; Sh could be whoever she wanted to be! 

The princess immediately went outside and took advantage of her new freedom. Those who would not speak to her before now courted her company, showing her stunning artworks, telling her fascinating legends, and displaying treasures of untold beauty. Though some of her new friends were dangerous, and their ideas strange and sometimes even bordering on treason, the thrill of new experiences and a world beyond her own kept her listening and enthralled. Whatever reserves she might have had about abandoning her father's cloak were washed away under the deluge of new friends and experiences. 

For weeks and weeks she rejoiced, learning and listening all she could, until one day, while searching her luggage for a missing shoe, she once again caught sight of her father's cloak. The princess felt a sudden spurt of shame, seeing the cloak lying there, wrinkled and abandoned. She remembered again her family and friends back at the palace, and the many years she had spent happily there. She remembered the other chosen children, and the many adventures they had had together. She remembered her father, and the way he had cried when she had made her farewells. She remembered all this, and, overcoming with longing, resolved to return home. 

The princess made her farewells, resisting the entreaties of her friends, simply telling them that she must return home, for none of them could know she was the daughter of the king. She travelled back across the seas, to the very steps of the palace, then stopped. She could not return home without wearing the cloak her father had given her. She drew the cloak out of her bag, but could not put it on. How could she wear the cloak her father had told her to never take off, knowing how long she had spent without it? Those who had turned away from her when she wore her cloak were now her friends, so how could she now wear that cloak over the clothes those very friends had given her? The princess tearfully laid the cloak aside, and went up the palace steps. 

As soon as she opened the palace door, her father greeted her with an warm embrace. "My child, how you have grown! But tell me, where is your cloak?"

"I took it off, father," the princess answered, looking down in shame. 

"Why, my daughter?"

And so she explained it all to him, how she had merely wanted to talk to the people who would not speak to a princess, how she had not meant to be gone so long, but their company had entranced her, and they had so many wonderful treasures to be seen. As she talked, the king grew sadder and sadder. 

"My daughter, my daughter," he said when she came to the end of her tale. "It was not without reason that I told you to never take off my cloak. Your new friends, though they may be interesting, are also dangerous. They have exiled themselves from my kingdom, and have rebelled against my rule. I had hoped to protect you from this heartbreak, by giving you my cloak and marking you as my child, but it still has struck. I must ask you, my daughter, to never go near them again."

The princess was devastated. A terrible choice she had before her. Either she just give up her family, her childhood, and the protection of the King, to stay with the friends she had made, and all the ideas and freedom they offered; or she must abandoned her friends and all her potential freedoms, to submit again to the King's rule, and regain the safety of her childhood, and the blessing of all her friends and family. 

"Must I make this choice?" The princess cried. "Cannot I have your blessing to go back to my friends, exiles and rebels that they are?"

"I would spare you if I could, my child, but I cannot," the king told her, tears in his eyes. "This is your choice, for you alone to make. Whatever you chose, know this: I will always love you."

This was the final prompt for the princess to make her choice. She stood tall and held back her tears, saying, "I am so very sorry, my father, but I cannot give up my friends. Maybe one day I will come back again, but for now, I must go."

The king nodded gravely. "My daughter, this is not the choice I would have wanted for you, but it is yours to make. Remember, you will always be welcome here."

The princess embraced her father a final time, then left. She returned back to her homeland, the land of rebels and self-exiles, who rejected her father, but had such beautiful things, and such grand ideas. They welcomed her back warmly, but some nights, gazing at the cloak which remained at the bottom of her bags, she remembered the love in her father's gaze, and wondered if she had made the right choice after all.


End file.
